Poor sleep can triple risk for heart disease

Date:
February 7, 2022
Source:
University of South Florida (USF Innovation)
Summary:
Individual aspects of poor sleep can be detrimental to heart
health. But if you combine them, the risk of heart disease can
increase by as much as 141 percent.



FULL STORY ========================================================================== Individual aspects of poor sleep can be detrimental to heart health. But
if you combine them, the risk of heart disease can increase by as much
as 141 percent.

That's the finding of a new study published in the journal Scientific
Reports.


==========================================================================
The University of South Florida-led study reviewed sleep data of
6,820 U.S.

adults with an average age of 53 who self-reported their sleep
characteristics and heart disease history. Among the participants,
633 also wore a research device (actigraphy) around their wrist that
captured sleep activity.

Researchers focused on multiple aspects of sleep health, such as
regularity, satisfaction, alertness during waking hours, timing of sleep,
sleep efficiency and sleep duration and linked them to physician-diagnosed heart disease. They found that each additional increase in self-reported
sleep health problems was associated with a 54 percent increased risk
of heart disease. The estimated risk of heart disease associated with an increase in sleep health problems was much higher for those who provided
sleep data by both self-report and the research device. They had a 141
percent increase -- a figure that could be perceived to be more accurate.

"These findings show the importance of assessing 'co-existing sleep health problems' within an individual to capture the risk of heart disease. This
is one of the first studies showing that, among well-functioning adults
in midlife, having more sleep health problems may increase the risk of
heart disease," said lead author Soomi Lee, assistant professor of aging studies and director of the STEALTH lab at USF. "The higher estimated
risk in those who provided both self-report and actigraphy sleep data
suggests that measuring sleep health accurately and comprehensively is important to increase the prediction of heart disease." The research
team asked participants about their health, including if their physician confirmed a heart condition such as arrythmia, heart murmur or an enlarged heart. High blood pressure was not considered a diagnosis as it's labeled
a risk factor for heart disease rather than a heart disease condition.

They also controlled for family history of heart disease and
sociodemographic factors, such as race, sex, smoking, depression and
physical activity.

Researchers found that while women reported having more sleep health
problems, men were more likely to suffer heart disease -- yet gender
did not impact the overall correlation between the two factors. They
also found that Black participants had more sleep health problems and
a higher prevalence of heart disease than white participants, but the
strong association between sleep health and heart disease did not differ
by race in general.

Lee says while sleep health is important for all ages, the team focused
on middle adulthood as it spans for a longer period of time and consists
of diverse and more stressful life experiences due to work and family
roles. This is also when precursors for heart disease and age-related
sleep issues begin to arise.

Since sleep health can be modified, researchers say these findings can contribute to future prevention strategies to mitigate the risk of heart disease, which is the leading cause of death in the U.S.

special promotion Explore the latest scientific research on sleep and
dreams in this free online course from New Scientist -- Sign_up_now_>>> ========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by University_of_South_Florida_(USF_Innovation). Note: Content may be edited
for style and length.


==========================================================================


Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/02/220207155642.htm

--- up 9 weeks, 2 days, 7 hours, 13 minutes
* Origin: -=> Castle Rock BBS <=- Now Husky HPT Powered! (1:317/3)